Women's college basketball Player of the Year Rankings: AP Poll shakes things up

This column has grown quite a lot from a simple ranking of player of the year candidates to a fun discussion about the culture around the award. With a huge shake-up in the NCAA women's college basketball rankings this week, it begs the question: how much do rankings play into this award?

The simple answer is, quite a lot.

College sports are unique in the way that these rankings not only work but also affect how the season unfolds for these teams. They aren't categorized by record but by journalist votes. Record plays into the way voters decide how to vote though. It's a delicate balance of taking these rankings as a way to categorize the best teams in the country, but not letting them solely shape your perspective on the college women's basketball landscape as a whole. The rankings also help determine the seeding

Ultimately, Player of the Year is another vote-based award. So, these rankings end up playing a part in those decisions as well. The rankings have seen quite a shake-up this week, and this season has been way less predictable than seasons in the past.

Monday's poll showed South Carolina drop to No. 4 after they lost to Texas over the weekend. It was the first time the Gamecocks have lost two games in one season since 2021-22. As a result, Texas was bumped up to No. 3 and Notre Dame rose to No. 2. UCLA has been in the No. 1 spot since they were able to deliver South Carolina their first loss in 43 games back in November.

Now, these rankings are to be taken with a grain of salt. They are not the be-all and end-all of the talent on teams — lower-ranked teams have extremely talented players as well.

Will this change in rankings affect the POTY race? If they stay like this to the end of the season, they could. The top names in the race include Hannah Hidalgo, Juju Watkins, Lauren Betts and a few others. If Betts's UCLA team is able to stay undefeated through the season and hold the No. 1 spot going into conference tournaments and March Madness, that's bonus points for her case.

Watkins has impressive numbers, but her USC Trojans have some things to figure out as a whole and sit at No. 6. Hidalgo and Notre Dame are now right below UCLA at No. 2, but Betts has the win over South Carolina, where Notre Dame's wins over South Carolina and UConn may not weigh as much in comparison.

When it comes down to it, it's really about voter priority. Some really take rankings and records into account when choosing their pick. Others look solely at statistics and nothing else. Others will balance the two, looking both at ranking and individual stats, but also team performance. At the end of the day, there are no specific criteria when it comes to who deserves the award most.

One thing is for sure, what was an open and shut case last year when Caitlin Clark swept the player of the year swards race is now a wide-open competition.